This project involved the re-purposing of an existing set for a new double bill of the Mozart operas Idomeneo and The Magic Flute. The original set was for the 1989 Opera Australia production of Massenet’s Werther designed by Michael Yeargan and directed by Elijah Moshinsky. The operas were to be directed by two different directors – Lindy Hume, directing Idomeneo and Kate Gaul directing The Magic Flute – with both directors bringing their particular aesthetic, taste and style to the table. While each production had the Werther set as its starting point, each would go in very different directions. Idomeneo would respond to the set as a classical and ordered space while the Magic Flute would think of it as a space to be disrupted.
NTRO Output Category
- Original Creative Work : Design / architectural Work
Place
Sydney, AustraliaVenue
Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera HouseMedium
set designResearch Statement
This project involved the re-purposing of an existing set for a new double bill of the Mozart operas Idomeneo and The Magic Flute. The original set was for the 1989 Opera Australia production of Massenet’s Werther designed by Michael Yeargan and directed by Elijah Moshinsky. The operas were to be directed by two different directors – Lindy Hume, directing Idomeneo and Kate Gaul directing The Magic Flute. While each production had the Werther set as its starting point, each would go in very different directions. Idomeneo would respond to the set as a classical and ordered space while the Magic Flute would think of it as a space to be disrupted.
For Idomeneo, we were thinking of a space that might lend itself to the use of projection - a simple white space of gauze walls and classical architectural elements onto which we projected images taken from the wild seascapes of Tasmania.
For The Magic Flute, we imagined that the set had been ‘invaded’ by nature – with a grassy floor scattered with wild daisies spilling through the doorways.
For this project we found a way to breathe new life into an old set that was due to be discarded, and at a time when sustainability is increasingly a consideration right across the performing arts.
The production of Idomeneo premiered for the Victorian Opera 2023 season in the Palais Theatre in St Kilda in July 2023 while The Magic Flute premiered for Opera Australia in Sydney at the Sydney Opera House on the 1st February 2024 as part of their summer season. Idomeneo opened at the Sydney Opera House on the 20th February 2024. The Magic Flute was presented in Geelong at Geelong Arts Centre for a one week season opening on the 9th November 2024. The Melbourne, Sydney and Geelong seasons were extensively reviewed by national and international reviewers (In 2025, Idomeneo was included in the summer season for San Francisco Opera, opening on 14th June 2025)Size or Duration of Work
2 Productions each 3hrs in duration
